Giller Prize List Narrows to Five Titles

The Scotiabank Giller Prizeannounced their 2017 shortlist this morning in Toronto, narrowing the field from the 12-title longlist to just five titles.

The winner of the $100,000 fiction prize will be revealed this year at the Giller's annual black tie gala event on November 20. You can watch the action unfold via CBC television at 8 p.m. (12 AT/12:30 NT), CBC Radio One at 8 p.m. (9 AT/9:30 NT) or on the CBCBooks.ca livestream.

Previous Giller nominees Michael Redhill, Eden Robinson, and UK-based Rachel Cusk all feature on the shortlist. David Chariandy, who had also been nominated for a previous book and was considered a strong contender for the prize this year, was on the longlist but not the shortlist.

As well, two of the four independent presses that were present on the longlist made it through to the shortlist: House of Anansi Press and Invisible Publishing, the latter of which has a shortlisted title for the first time. Neither of the short story collections that were present on the longlist moved through to the shortlist.

It's an interesting list with a variety of styles and subjects represented, and Chariandy's exclusion is sure to surprise many readers.

The shortlist for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize is:

Rachel Cusk for her novel Transit, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Ed O’Loughlin for his novel Minds of Winter, published by House of Anansi Press

Michael Redhill for his novel Bellevue Square, published by Doubleday Canada